CsMBi(3)Te(6) and CsM(2)Bi(3)Te(7) (M = Pb, Sn): new thermoelectric compounds with low-dimensional structures

The new materials CsPbBi(3)Te(6) and CsPb(2)Bi(3)Te(7) were discovered through reactions of CsBi(4)Te(6) with PbTe, whereas the isostructural materials CsSnBi(3)Te(6) and CsSn(2)Bi(3)Te(7) were discovered through corresponding reactions with SnTe. The compounds can also be prepared from stoichiometric mixtures of Cs(2)Te, Pb (Sn), Bi, and Te. The crystal structures show a layered architecture of NaCl-type slabs alternating with layers of Cs atoms. This group of compounds offers a new quaternary system, Cs-M-Bi-Te (M = Pb and Sn), available for thermoelectric investigations, including fine-tuning of compositions and doping.     

Optimized hole injection with strong electron acceptors at organic-metal interfaces

The energy-level alignment at interfaces between three electroactive conjugated organic materials and Au was systematically varied by adjusting the precoverage of the metal substrate with the electron acceptor tetrafluoro-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4-TCNQ). Photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that electron transfer from Au to adsorbed F4-TCNQ was responsible for lowering the hole-injection barrier by as much as 1.2 eV. This novel interface modification scheme is independent of the charge transfer complex formation ability of the organic materials with the electron acceptor.     

Profiling of generic anti-phosphopeptide antibodies and kinases with peptide microarrays using radioactive and fluorescence-based assays

Kinases represent one of the largest enzyme families and key regulatory proteins in the cell. Only a small subset of these enzymes has been characterised so far. We have prepared different types of phosphopeptide and peptide microarrays displaying peptides deduced from annotated human phosphorylation sites and cytoplasmic domains of all annotated human membrane proteins. This approach was enabled by fully-automated high throughput micro-scale synthesis of peptides by the SPOT technology combined with chemo-selective immobilisation on modified glass slides. The phosphopeptide microarrays displaying 2923 peptides in total have been used for the characterisation of commercially available generic anti-phosphopeptide antibodies. This enabled us to detect Abl kinase activity on a microarray with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies yielding results comparable to those obtained from a radioactive assay. More than 13 000 peptides deposited on six glass slides were used to profile casein kinase 2 (CK2) using a radioactive assay, since no generic antibody for the reliable detection of serine or threonine phosphorylation could be identified. All previously identified substrates were detected in the microarray experiment. In order to confirm whether substrates on the microarray are substrates in solution phase assays, more than 700 peptides were synthesised and tested with CK2 in a solution phase assay. All substrates identified in the solution phase assay were also detected on the microarray.     

Directed regio- and stereoselective hydroformylation of mono- and 1,3-disubstituted allylic alcohols: a catalytic approach to the anti-aldol-retron

Regioselective and diastereoselective hydroformylation of mono- and 1,3-disubstituted allylic alcohol o-DPPB esters is described. The products represent synthetically important anti-aldol retrons.     

Control of charge transfer by conformational and electronic effects: Donor–donor and donor–acceptor phenyl pyrroles

Derivatives of N-pyrrolobenzene with a para-donor and a para-acceptor substituent on the benzene ring are compared. It is shown that by a suitable increase of the donor strength of the pyrrolo group, CT fluorescence can be achieved even for donor–donor-substituted benzenes. The ICT emission for sterically hindered compounds is more forbidden than that of unhindered phenyl pyrroles. This suggests conformational effects which induce a narrower twist angle distribution around a perpendicular minimum in the excited state.